Starbucks gained over $2B in free advertising thanks to ‘Game of Thrones’ mistake

An expert told CNBC that the coffee chain got billions of dollars in free advertising, even though it wasn’t even a Starbucks cup that appeared on the HBO show.

Author:
Adrianna Rodríguez

Published:
9:20 AM EDT May 9, 2019

Updated:
10:30 AM EDT May 9, 2019

We’re almost to the penultimate episode of “Game of Thrones,” but fans can’t stop talking about the rogue coffee cup that appeared on Sunday’s fourth episode.

The conversation has resurfaced after a CNBC report said that Starbucks had gained an estimated $2.3 billion in free advertising over the last few days due to the out of place cup that appeared on the table during a celebration in which the actors drank from goblets and horns.

Stacy Jones, chief executive officer of marketing company Hollywood Branded, told CNBC that PR subscription service Critical Mention counted 10,627 mentions of Starbucks and “Game of Thrones” online, TV and radio around the world.

Even though HBO has replaced the episode with one where the offending cup was digitally removed, the Internet was still able to have its fun.

HBO responded to the teasing with a few jokes of their own.

Even though it was confirmed that the cup wasn’t from Starbucks, former Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz still joined in on the fun.